I consider the AFL was correct in trying to curb the third-man up tactic in ruck contests. For the last few years snipers had free rein jumping into Sandi’s ribs from any direction as he was looking up at the ball. The one time he tried to protect himself he hit a Richmond bloke with a typically-Richmond glass jaw, and was rubbed out for it. But the ‘put your hand up’ bit of the rule is creating a bit of confusion, giving players a way to borderline-cheat, and professional whingers like Kevin Bartlett the chance to breathlessly clutch his pearls as he hyperbolises that the game is declining at a quicker rate than his hairline in his 20s.
I reckon one possible solution is for ruckmen to have an armband (a bit like a captain’s armband in soccer). Each team can have two, and you can’t enter a ruck contest unless you’re wearing the armband. A team can’t have two ruckmen within 15m of a contest otherwise it’s a free kick against them. If a bloke with an armband can’t get to the contest, too bad, the other team’s ruckman gets to palm the ball down or whack if toward 30m.
Everyone knows who the ruckman is so it’s easier for players and umpires to act accordingly. Problem solved.
